Kevin Walker (Brothers & Sisters)

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Kevin Walker is the name of a fictional character on ABC's family drama Brothers & Sisters. Kevin is portrayed by Matthew Rhys.

Kevin Walker
Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker
First appearance	Patriarchy
Information
Gender	Male
Age	34
Occupation	Lawyer
Family	Nora Walker (mother) William Walker (father, deceased) Sarah Walker (Sister) Kitty Walker (sister) Thomas Walker (brother) Justin Walker (brother) Rebecca Harper(half sister)
Relationships	Scotty Wandell (ex-boyfriend) Chad Barry (boyfriend)
Children	None
Portrayed by	Matthew Rhys
Created by	Jon Robin Baitz

1 Character history
- 1.1 Background
- 1.2 Season 1
2 Significance as a character
3 Trivia
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Character history

[edit] Background

Kevin, a 34 year old lawyer, was the fourth child of William and Nora Walker (the siblings are, in birth order, Sarah, Kitty, Tommy, Kevin, and Justin). In his teens, Kevin's first sexual experience was with a girl, but by the next summer he had sex with a boy, Tucker Booth, at his family's ranch house (likely unbeknownst to Kevin, Tucker also deflowered Sarah and was the first person to do drugs with Justin). When Kevin was a senior in high school, he began seeing a boy named Danny McCullough. Danny's sister found out about the relationship and told Kitty. Kevin swore Kitty to secrecy, but by that Christmas she had told the other siblings. Kevin then told his mother, and she quickly joined PFLAG. Years later, Kevin would express some bitterness at how this had unfolded, saying he had felt like "an exchange student in his own home." Kevin eventually became a successful lawyer, making partner at a young age. He was out to his family as well as to the legal world, but struggled with romantic relationships. Several years before the start of the show, Kevin was in a relationship with another man which ended with enough regret that Kevin kept a framed photo of the two of them in his office. Kevin also implied that in his past, he had had problems staying faithful in a relationship.

[edit] Season 1

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Along with the rest of the Walker family, Kevin's world was shaken when his father William suddenly died and was revealed as an embezzler and an adulterer. A heavy burden was often put on Kevin's shoulders, as he was the executor of his father's estate and his siblings also came to him for legal advice when they found out William had embezzled money from the company pension fund. Kevin, used to this role, offered few complaints, and seemed uninterested in a romantic relationship.

While working on a case, Kevin interviewed a key witness, Scotty Wandell (Luke MacFarlane). Scotty, who was more flamboyant than Kevin, quickly deduced Kevin's homosexuality and accused him of being ashamed and trying to "pass" for heterosexual. Kevin was irritated by Scotty's insinuations, but after Sarah invited Scotty to the Walker home for a pool party, Kevin began to let his guard down. He made a date with Scotty, but had to cancel when his mother Nora guilted him into accompanying her to a golf tournament. She changed her mind during the tournament and they went to the movies instead, where they ran into Scotty and a male companion holding hands. Later, Kevin confronted his mother for using him instead of allowing him to live his own life.

Soon after their run-in at the movies, Scotty dropped by Kevin's office and assured him the other man was only a friend. Kevin and Scotty went on their first date and bonded while talking about their backgrounds. When Scotty impulsively kissed Kevin during the meal, Kevin was put off. After they left the resturant and Kevin remained distant, Scotty confronted Kevin about his shame of public displays of affection, putting down Kevin for his "internalized homophobia." Kevin insisted he was fine with himself and would object to the public kiss even if he were straight. The date ended on a sour note, but the next day, Scotty dropped by Kevin's apartment to apologize for being judgmental and to tell Kevin how much he got to Scotty. Kevin expressed relief that Scotty wasn't perfect and kissed him in front of a neighbor. After jokingly slamming the door in his face, Kevin pulled Scotty inside the apartment in order to take their relationship further.

When Scotty was unable to get off work to attend a charity benefit with Kevin, Kevin offered to pay Scotty's salary for the time he would miss. Scotty bristled at the idea of being "bought" by Kevin, and felt he was being made to feel inferior due to his social status. Coincidentally, Scotty turned out to be a waiter at the benefit. When a drunk Kevin apologized to him, they kissed and made up, but Scotty's boss fired him for putting his personal life before the job. Kevin threatened the boss with an anti-discrimination lawsuit unless he agreed to rehire Scotty, with a bigger salary. Kevin and Scotty made up.

When Kevin found out the family ranch house was about to be sold, he and Scotty decided to go for a weekend visit, not realizing the rest of his family had had the same idea. During the weekend, Kevin's brother Tommy, who had recently discovered his sterility, asked Kevin for his sperm in order to father a child with Tommy's wife Julia. Kevin turned him down. When Sarah found out she angrily confronted Kevin at the dinner table, and asked Scotty for his opinion. Kevin unthikingly snapped that Scotty was not family and he should "shut up". He quickly apologized, but a hurt Scotty went home. Kevin confided to Kitty that he didn't want to bring a child into the world because he was afraid the child would be gay and face the same suffering he had faced. Kitty assured him the Walkers would never let anyone hurt the child, gay or straight, and Kevin (along with their other brother, Justin) agreed to be a sperm donor for Tommy and Julia. When Kevin got back to town, Scotty would no longer return his calls. Scotty dropped by the office to accept a settlement check, and Kevin joked that Scotty could take him to dinner since he was now on Kevin's financial level. A hurt Scotty said it had taken him a long time to accept himself, and in only two months, Kevin had made him feel worthless. He then told Kevin to rip up the check. Soon after, Kevin called Scotty and finally put his heart on the line. Scotty asked him for the check, and thanked him for the time they had spent together, but said the relationship was over. Kevin barely held his tears at bay as he ended the conversation.

After Kevin joined Tommy and Sarah on a road trip to track down the missing pension fund, their car broke down and they were stranded at a military bar. A soldier who flirted with Kevin at the bar agreed to let them stay at his place, and he had a one-night stand with Kevin in the process. They soon found the money their father had hidden away, and the family business was saved. The family harmony was strained when Kevin found out that Kitty was going to work for a senator (Rob Lowe) who had voted for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. In the process, Kevin realized Kitty herself was opposed to gay marriage, although she supported civil unions. A stung Kevin grudgingly accepted her decision, but was infuriated when Kitty began seeing the senator socially. As a result, Kevin and Kitty became somewhat estranged for a time.

Chad Barry (Jason Lewis), a handsome soap star, made the moves on Kevin. Even though Chad was closeted and had a girlfriend, a starstruck Kevin began a secret affair with Chad. In spite of his better judgment, Kevin developed feelings for Chad, telling Chad this was the first time he was the one who wanted the relationship more. When Kevin realized their relationship was never going to be more than a secret affair, he tried to end things, but Chad gave him an expensive watch and convinced Kevin he had feelings for him. Chad's girlfriend, Michelle, fixed Kevin up for a blind date. The date turned out to be Scotty, to the surprise of both men. Due to being jealous of Chad and Michelle, as well as still having strong feelings for Scotty, Kevin had sex with Scotty. The morning after, Chad called Kevin and asked if he'd had sex with Scotty. When Kevin implied he had, Chad claimed he would have broken up with Michelle but no longer had a reason to do so. Scotty, who overheard the conversation, asked Kevin if he'd slept with him to make Chad jealous. Kevin replied, "I don't know." A hurt Scotty said Kevin was now in the place he had been in with Kevin - loving someone who doesn't love themselves. He told Kevin he felt sorry for him, and sadly wished him good luck.

Although Chad was upset with Kevin, Chad soon began calling him again and asking him for another chance. Kevin was uninterested until Chad told him he'd broken up with Michelle. Kevin and Chad went out to dinner. After dinner, Michelle called Kevin to warn him that Chad was stringing him along and would hurt him the way he'd hurt other men and women. Kevin continued to be wary of Chad, but Chad convinced him of his desire for a real relationship.

A blogger, Dan Silk, began running stories on his site which exposed Chad's homosexuality (one being Kevin and Chad shopping for a lamp). Against Chad's wishes, Kevin called Silk and threatened him with a lawsuit. Silk responded by increasing his attacks against Chad. Chad told Kevin they would now have to be even more discreet and hidden away than before. Meanwhile, Kevin, Sarah, Tommy, and Saul decided not to tell Nora (Kevin's mother) that William (Kevin's father) had a long-lost daughter, Rebecca, by another woman, and that daughter was now back in town. Feeling guilty, Saul told Nora the truth, and the Walkers struggled with how to deal with their new addition.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Significance as a character

Although American television had had gay and lesbian characters in both daytime and primetime, many of those characters only made guest appearances, were minor in importance, or received little storyline beyond coming out or other struggles related to their sexuality. Kevin was the rare gay character who was already out both to his family and in the workplace. The stated goal of the show to treat Kevin as an equal to, no better or worse than, the straight characters ^[1], received praise from critics such as Robert Bianco ^[2].

Kisses between men had been especially rare on network television; Melrose Place edited out a gay kiss, Dawson's Creek had a few small kisses every few seasons, Will & Grace (a show with two gay characters in major roles) allowed only one or two brief kisses near the end of the show's run, and thirtysomething faced loss of ad revenues due to airing a scene of two men laying in bed together.^[3] In the first season of Brothers & Sisters, Kevin had a number of kisses with his love interests, even kissing Scotty two different times in the same episode ("Date Night"), and shared several bedroom scenes with Chad which clearly took place soon after sex. The lack of noticeable backlash from viewers or advertisers was hailed as a positive step forward in public acceptance of gay characters.

Kevin's romance with Scotty, which built over several episodes, showcased a culture clash between very different men, and was praised as one of the best gay relationships ever on TV ^[4] and the best storyline ever for a gay male on American television ^[5]. Actor Matthew Rhys said viewers had a big reaction to the relationship and that their breakup struck a chord.^[6]

[edit] Trivia

In the first pilot, Kevin was named Bryan, a prosecutor played by Jonathan LaPaglia, and gearing up for a custody battle with the ex-wife he left after coming out of the closet. With the second pilot, the character was retooled and recast with Matthew Rhys.